AI plane experiences problems in landing

The pilots of an Air India plane with 150 people on board on Thursday aborted landing at the IGI Airport here after experiencing "fluctuations" on the instrument landing system (ILS) signal, but later touched down safely.

None of the 143 passengers of the IC-864 from Mumbai to Delhi or seven crewmembers was hurt in the incident, an airline spokesperson told PTI.

At 1209 hours, the pilots who were on the ILS mode for a safe landing suddenly spotted the signals on the system fluctuating, leading to problems with the coordinates of the Airbus A-321's landing path.

As soon as the problem was noted, the pilots decided to do a "go around" and informed the Air Traffic Control about their decision against landing, the spokesperson said.

The plane, which was earlier planning to land on Runway 28, touched down safely on Runway 29 after about 20 minutes, he said.

The aircraft later took off on its onward journey to Chandigarh with 151 passengers on board, he added.

The ILS enables a plane to land in difficult conditions like thick fog, but the computer system on board and the system on the ground have to tally the coordinates for ensuring proper landing or take-off.